Lorgat asks BCCI to 'protect' Indian cricketers

T20 packed entertainer. But despite the immense popularity of the shortest format of the game, the International Cricket Council ( ICC) is convinced there can be only one World Cup, which is of the 50-over format.

"What we are going to have in the West Indies at the end of the month is the World Twenty20. For the ICC, the World Cup is the 2011 event in the (Indian) subcontinent," ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat, told Mail Today on Monday.

Since the time Lorgat arrived in the Capital, he has been hearing a lot about how the IPL has been a super hit in India. But he is not one bit worried that the popularity of this circus is going to affect the ICC properties.":We have got our cycle right now. We have the World Twenty20 this year, the World Cup next year and the Champions Trophy in 2012. Each event has its own importance," said Lorgat.

More than the effects of T20 cricket, it's the sheer volume of cricket which has Lorgat concerned.

At a time when people are wondering if the World Cup will lose it sheen because of the T20 format, Lorgat had a word of advice for the BCCI. " They need to take care of the 15 or 16 Indian players who are so busy with various forms of cricket.

Players need to be preserved and I think when someone like Ricky Ponting skips a series, it is good. In fact, all the teams need to take care of the load on their players," he said.

Talking specifically about the World Cup in the sub- continent, Lorgat is excited about the progress being made. " We are keeping a close watch on the work happening in India as well as Sri Lanka. I am aware there has been delay at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. But there is a lot of time and work will be completed on time," Lorgat felt.

Talking about the more serious issue for the World Cup, which is the quality of pitches, Lorgat says there is nothing to be worried about. " We have got Andy Atkinson as our special consultant. He is in touch with various venues," said Lorgat.

Talk veered around to the Kotla pitch, which has again come in for criticism during the IPL matches. " Yes, Delhi is a worry and work specifically needs to be done on it. Andy will work with the DDCA and we hope the pitch will be fine. We are aware about what happened in December when the ODI against Sri Lanka was abandoned," said Lorgat.

Talking about security, which is a big aspect of the 2011 World Cup, Lorgat was composed.

" Today, be it New Delhi or London, security is a concern. We at the ICC now have our network of security experts who are in touch with various countries," said Lorgat, before quickly wanting to know if work in progress for the Commonwealth Games was on time.

Shifting focus to Test cricket, Lorgat said: "Test cricket has attracted attention as a good number of matches have been played in recent times. People are going to watch Test cricket and the battle for the No. 1 ICC ranking was gripping where it involved India, Australia and South Africa," said Lorgat.

The ICC CEO thinks a lot more will soon happen to ensure Test cricket gets a further boost. " Right now, Test cricket is a bilateral series. There will be a lot more interest if it can grow.

In the next few months we do expect there will be some new proposals and the interest will grow," says Lorgat.

In his own words, he wants "Test cricket to have a ( points) table like other sports". " We want to create a context for Test cricket," he added.

Talking about cricket in the Indian sub continent, Lorgat said it was important that Pakistan played cricket. " We all know how the situation is. But rather than not have any cricket in Pakistan, it is important at least they play in neutral venues," he says. " Right now, it is not possible to speculate on the return of cricket to Pakistan. It all depends on the macro view in the sub- continent. We do not have a crystal ball to gaze at," said Lorgat.

" When the environment sorts itself out and we know Pakistan is ready, cricket will return to Pakistan," added Lorgat. " We surely want cricket to return to Pakistan but it cannot compromise on security and safety," is his firm belief.

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